The History of Our Club
A LITTLE HISTORY & INFORMATION ABOUT OUR CLUB
2009 will mark the 40th Anniversary of the K.G.B.R.A.
COME JOIN IN 2009 & CELEBRATE WITH US!
The Kentucky Girls Barrel Racing Association was formed in 1969 by a group of up and coming women barrel racers wanting to promote barrel racing and pole bending in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. They wanted to encourage horsemanship, sportsmanship and fellowship along with a competitive spirit among women barrel racers. The Kentucky Men's Barrel Racing was formed in 1981 and worked along the same guidelines with the addition of flag racing added to the list of events. Both clubs have grown tremendously and now are joined as one club, known as the Kentucky Girls and Men's Barrel Racing Association. Although we run for separate points in barrels and poles, the men and women are combined in flags. The youth and peewee are also combined. We will be presenting 73 awards for 2008. This is an astounding number of awards presented considering we have only 37 memberships, family and individuals. We had 1,210 entries in 27 shows, which averaged 45 per show. Our largest number of entries was at the August 2nd Pre Fair Warm-up show at Bluegrass Arena, where we had 61 entries. We had several shows that had 55+ entries. In 2007 we averaged 53 entries per show. In 2006 we averaged 30 entries per show. The club starts the year off with a fund raising event in March. Game Day is an event for friends, both members and non-members to attend and mingle. There is a poker tournament and corn hole tournament. Our big fund raiser is our annual Fall Classic which is held Memorial weekend in conjunction with the Elwood Hayes Memorial Horse show at the Grayson County Saddle Club in Leitchfield, KY. This is a great two-day event to attend with the prices of fuel these days. September or October is the month of the Midwest Barrel Match, which we will vote on whether or not the club will attend at the May Meeting. October is when we have our year-end awards meeting and cook out. This is a fun event to attend as well. This is one of our most important meetings of the year, as this is when officers are elected for the following year and the award money amounts are discussed. Preceding the meeting is our cook out, featuring Tom Young at the Grill! There is plenty of good eating at this function. After a quick meeting there is a corn hole tournament that plays on well into the night. For those of you not familiar with the Midwest Barrel Match, this is a two-day Match Barrel Race consisting of the top 10 women from 8 states. It is possible to take two women's teams. There is also a Match Race for the men following the women's match each day. This consists of the top 10 men from approximately 6 or 7 states. It varies year to year. The men are also allowed two teams. This is held in a different state each year. The 2009 Match will be held at the Hoosier Horse Park in Edinburg, Indiana. There is an open show on Friday and the match is run on Saturday and Sunday. There is a saddle presented to the woman with the fastest average of the two days in the women's match and also a saddle presented to the man with the fastest average of the two days for the men's match. There are also awards for the fastest time of each match each day. There is a Best Dressed Trophy presented for the women's match and a "Spirit" trophy presented to the state with the loudest and most supportive group. Also, in conjunction with the match runs each participant can pay an additional entry fee and be eligible for prize money from the match, which is paid, in a 4-D format. This is a great event to participate in and you could write a whole book on the fun, experiences, and friends you've made over the years at this great event. If anyone would like more information, please feel free to contact any of the club's officers. This is just a quick summary of what the Kentucky Girls and Men's Barrel Racing association is about. We are a very family oriented club and put great emphasis on our youth and peewee awards. They are the future of our sport and this is a great way to encourage them to do their very best. Many of our members have been a part of the association since the beginning and have grown up together in the club. Today their children are growing up in the club and carrying on the tradition. If anyone would like more information on our club or becoming a member please feel free to contact any of the officers or use the e-mail address listed on the web site. You may also e-mail Presidents Mary and Tom Young at speedycanchasers@aol.com.